Bookal's grandfather says death penalty should be brought back for Cory Byrd

Thursday

Mar 17, 2011 at 12:14 PMMar 17, 2011 at 12:25 PM

GOSHEN – Cory Byrd was back in court on Wednesday to face charges he beat to death his girlfriend's 4-year-old son, Marc Bookal. An Orange County Jail jumpsuit replaced the prison greens Byrd wore for his second-degree murder arraignment last month.

Heather Yakin

GOSHEN – Cory Byrd was back in court on Wednesday to face charges he beat to death his girlfriend's 4-year-old son, Marc Bookal.An Orange County Jail jumpsuit replaced the prison greens Byrd wore for his second-degree murder arraignment last month.As defense lawyer Alan Joseph and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Huey discussed procedural issues with Judge Jeffrey Berry, Marc Bookal's relatives – his father's family – watched quietly from the back of the courtroom. They were there for Marc.Afterward, Marc's grandfather, Leroy Bookal, said the family had been told the appearance was just a conference.His voice was soft as he spoke in the courthouse hallway, but his words carried the weight of the family's grief and anger at what happened to Marc.“I think the boy's (Byrd) guilty, right here, of a barbaric act,” Bookal said. There's a moratorium on the death penalty in New York. But Bookal said, “They should bring it back just for him.”Marc was last seen alive on Dec. 14, 2009, and his disappearance triggered a massive search; his body was found March 25, 2010, dumped in a wooded lot a few blocks from home. Byrd became a suspect early in the case. Marc's mother, Christina Bookal, formerly Christina Coston, had left the child in Byrd's care at the apartment they shared. And in 1998, Byrd was charged with abusing his then-14-month old son – his son with Christina Coston, who later became Cristina Bookal – severely enough to fracture his skull and several ribs. He pleaded guilty to felony reckless endangerment in that case.That history adds to the Bookals' frustrations.“He's hurt his own child before,” Leroy Bookal said. “Now look what he's done to my grandson: he'll never live to be a man.” Byrd's next court date is April 15.